February 2010

  • Science: The Big Picture

    The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier 2007   This exuberant guided tour of the major fields of science highlights issues big (global warming) and small (ice cream melting), making it all understandable and fascinating. The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking 2001 One of the greatest scientific… Continue reading

  • Library Day at Seattle Art Museum

    If you’re a Seattle Public Library cardholder, you probably already know that your library card gives you free access to books, DVDs, CDs, eBooks, databases and many more resources. But did you know that this Sunday only it’s also a free ticket to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM)? That’s right, Sunday, February 28 is Seattle… Continue reading

  • Modern-Day Slavery series starts February 28

    It is hard to believe and difficult to fathom that you could, today, in the 21st century, find yourself living next door to a slave. Author, Kevin Bales describes how a person might find him or herself in such a dire predicament in the book The Slave Next Door:  Human Trafficking and Slavery in American… Continue reading

  • Attention Aliens: You Are Not Alone!

    Have you ever thought that you might be from another planet? Most people, at some point in their lives, experience moments of feeling “different”, however, there are individuals who have such a unique interpretation of the world that it sets them apart. Imaginative, intelligent children learning to navigate the social galaxies around them – particularly… Continue reading

  • Canadian Authors – Five Stars & a Maple Leaf

    The Olympics puts me in mind of Canada, which puts me in mind of some of my favorite fiction authors.  I know you can’t talk of “Canadian authors” in a monolithic sense, the same way you can’t treat  “U.S. authors” as a homogenous group, but I find that many of my favorite literary fiction novelists… Continue reading

  • Science: Deep Thoughts, Deep Space

    Physics of the Impossible: a scientific exploration into the world of phasers, force fields, teleportation, and time travel by Michio Kaku 2008 Kaku examines the stuff of science fiction – time machines, invisibility cloaks, starships – and uses the laws of physics to judge their feasibility.   The Unfinished Game: Pascal, Fermat, and the seventeenth-century… Continue reading

  • Zeppelin Attacks on England!

    L-3 and L-4 were the first.  Yarmouth and King’s Lynn on England’s south-east coast were their targets.  Their flight paths traced over the countryside, covering over 130 miles for L-3 and considerably less for L-4 before returning to Germany.  The L designation stood for luftschiff or airship.  These airships were also called dirigibles.  They had… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction for the Rest of Us

    I’ll admit it straight up: I’ve never really liked science fiction.  I’ve never seen a single episode of Star Trek or read a book by Robert Heinlein.  But I’m a librarian, and in order to recommend books to readers of every genre, I have to read outside my comfort zone.  Thanks to a coworker, patrons,… Continue reading

  • Wishing for Snow

    As I look out on the dreary grey that has become the standard color for this winter, I think back on last year’s winter white and wish for snow. Yes, I know it was a bit extreme and highly inconvenient – not to mention downright dangerous, at times – but being forced to stay home… Continue reading

  • What’s Next? David Tennant and Doctor Who

    Oh, David Tennant; you were the only Doctor for me. Over the holidays, the British TV series Doctor Who bid farewell to its 10th Doctor and welcomed a new actor to play the 11th (confused? Think James Bond, but with an explanation for the change). Now that it’s over, how are David Tennant fans to… Continue reading

  • Genealogy 101: Why are genealogists fascinated with our immigrant records and why are they so hard to find?

    With the exception of Native Americans, we are all descendants of immigrants from some other country.  Arlene Eakle projected that between 1607 and 1980 “Over 40 million persons came from other places in the world to settle in the U.S”   (Eakle, Arlene H.  “Tracking Immigrant Origins” in Eakel, Arlene. The Source:  A Guidebook of American… Continue reading

  • Cover art for Hunger Games #3 revealed — and here’s how you’ll know when you can put a hold on it

    Is it mean to tease you with the cover of a book that isn’t available yet? Maybe. But I thought you’d forgive me since now fans of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games can ramp up the anticipation for the August 24 release of Mockingjay. Read all about the trilogy at the Scholastic blog. Now, you know… Continue reading

  • The Men of the BBC

    “I’m not hung up about Darcy. I do not sit at home with the pause button on Colin Firth in clingy pants, okay? I love the love story. I love Elizabeth. I love the manners and language and the courtesy. It’s become part of who I am and what I want. I’m saying that I… Continue reading

  • Standards and Forgotten Gems: Sheet Music Redux

    Many master songwriters from Tin Pan Alley have songbooks devoted to their works. However, though these songwriters may have had very successful careers for, literally, decades and may have written several hundred songs, only a fraction of their output makes it into these songbooks. Publishers generally want to produce material that will sell (go figure!)… Continue reading

  • Celebrate Black History Month Through Children’s Literature

    Black History Month invites us to explore African American culture and history with children. Consider making a date with your favorite children to attend one of the many literature-based events in the Seattle area, connecting history and the African American experience with children’s literature. Here are a few suggestions: Central Library will host the play… Continue reading

  • Seeing Ourselves in Chaucer’s Mirror.

    Can we really relate to people from 700 years ago? Thanks to Peter Ackroyd, it’s easier than ever. In our iPod, iPad, texting and tweeting world, you’d think there is not too much in common with the lives of 14th century pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, but, in fact, there is. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales… Continue reading

  • February Question of the Month: Across the Black Sea.

    The reference librarians at Seattle Public Library are pretty darn amazing. They don’t know everything, instead they know where to find everything. As part of an irregular series of posts we salute the talented and dedicated reference staff at your local library. Names and other identifying information have been removed from the questions we showcase.… Continue reading

  • Science: The Great Adventure

    The Ghost Map: the story of London’s most terrifying epidemic– and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world by Steven Johnson 2006  This page-turner chronicles the spread of cholera in 1850’s London and profiles the doctor who tried to persuade a skeptical medical establishment that the disease was spread by contaminated water. Bretz’s… Continue reading